auf Wiedersehen Musas Residence!

Tonight is the last night in the hostal! One week later, and I am still without a permanent residence. Well I guess we wouldn't call it permanent since I'll be back in the U.S. so soon anyways, huh? Tomorrow we have SIX appointments to look at pisos - what they call apartments here. So, you might think I'm homeless then, right? That might be the case if I didn't have such awesome friends like DeAnna to let me crash at her place. She lives with a woman named Berny who sleeps on the couch, so that will make four of us in a tiny one bedroom, but adaptation is what this experience is all about. Adapting to uncomfortable circumstances helps you grow as a person, which is all I'm looking to do :) We really thought we were going to take an apartment today, but in the end we all decided it was not the right choice. It was not as close as we would have like to the centro, the landlord looked a little sketchy, and they were asking for too much of a deposit. It was a REALLY cute place though. I know everything will work out, so don't any of you go worrying about me ;)

Besides the jetlag, minor language barrier and infrequent attack of stress due to the housing situation, Spain is perfect, just as I imagined. I love speaking Spanish and meeting new people while doing so. Unfortunately I haven't been able to let my social life flourish to its full potential, but it definitely will in due time :) Right now, I'm just taking it all in and becoming more and more appreciative each day of how lucky I am to be here with great friends, while still having so many people who love me and will wait for me at home. I'm so blessed.

Last thing....today is Apphia's birthday. I love her so much! I hope just one person who knew her reads my blog, and it reminds them about her birthday, and they take a minute to think about how absolutely wonderful she was. No one will ever compare :)

I doubt they eat that in Cuba

Nothing new really to write about. Spain, my hostal, and all my amigos are so amazing. The only bad thing that happened so far was that we ordered arroz a la cubana - white rice covered in a fried egg and ketchup. All the other food has been amazing though :)

Por fin...

he llegado! I am really too tired to write much of anything that would be of interest to anyone who happens to read this blog, BUT I am in Madrid and safe. My hostal is sweet and I'm still just looking for an apartment. My Spanish is better already, so that's a relief. Miss you all!

en el aeropuerto

I'm in the airport waiting to leave...

It has been a crazy couple of days trying to say goodbye to everyone. In case anyone didn't know, there was a huge power outage in Ohio, so that made preparing for the trip even crazier. Let's just pray I didn't forget anything!

Details to come about how goes the search for housing and language barrier :)

Laura

Una semanita

I can't resist the urge to write in my blog, despite the fact that I have not yet moved to Madrid. I leave in exactly one week, and I am as excited as I am terrified. I am not scared of too much; I know I am observant and overly cautious. You might call me Safety Sam...I think I got that from my dad. He's definitely the "better safe than sorry" type! At this point I am worrying about packing and saying my goodbyes to everyone I love. Also, my amiga DeAnna is leaving tomorrow, so my thoughts and prayers will be with her. Every once in a while I get a rush of excitement as I picture my new life in Madrid, but unfortunately that is usually suppressed quickly by the nerves :S I'll be excited when I get there, right?

Thanks in advance to everyone who is coming to my goodbye dinner tonight, attending my goodbye party in Morrow on Sunday, or making any effort to see me before I leave! It is hectic trying to see everyone who means anything to you, so I appreciate the effort coming from the other side, too.

Love you all <3

My Flight Itinerary

Tuesday, September 16, 2008
American Airlines # 4306
Cincinnati (CVG) to Chicago O'Hare (ORD)
Departure: 3:10 PM EDT
Arrival: 3:30 PM CDT

Tuesday, September 16, 2008
British Airways # 296
Chicago O'Hare (ORD) to London Heathrow (LHR)
Departure: 5:30 PM CDT
Arrival: (LHR): 7:05 AM BST

Wednesday, September 17, 2008
British Airways # 458
London Heathrow (LHR) to Madrid Barajas (MAD)
Departure: 9:30 AM BST
Arrival: (MAD): 12:50 PM CEST